From Analog to Digital | How Tech Changed Everything

From rotary phones to smartphones, mixtapes to TikTok — the tech divide between generations runs deep. In this episode, we dive into how the rise of the internet, social media, and digital life has transformed everything from our worldviews to our attention spans. Ronnie shares what life was like before the internet (spoiler: she survived without Google), while Kaina reflects on what it means to grow up in a world where a “like” can make or break your day.

We explore how tech has shaped generational values, media literacy (or lack thereof), relationships, self-perception, and the all-too-familiar doom scroll. With humor and nuance, we unpack the good, the bad, and the algorithmically ugly. Whether you still write checks or haven't touched a pen in years, this episode will get you thinking about how tech shaped your life — and where it might be taking us next.

• Join the conversation: How do you think tech changed, or didn't change your generation? How did your weekly challenge go? Share your reflections in the comments or via our social media @generationalteapod
• What She Said: "We are not held back by the old ways, but neither are we fully free in the new” - Unknown author
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• Microphone flags by Impact PBS
• Intro music by Cymatix
• Logo by @makariann 
• Business email: generationalteapod@gmail.com

Transcript

0:11

You having a hot flash over there? Yes. Oh, and here we go again. It's actually not that hot here. I was like reading outside this morning and I had a blanket and a long sleeve shirt. Really? Yeah. It's nice. It's supposed to be really nice. It's probably the last cool weather I'll enjoy before I'm just melting. Yeah, exactly. Melting. Help me. I'm melting. Help me, please. Welcome to generational tea. Yes. I'm Kaa. And I'm Ronnie. We're so to up. You came. We're trying. Yes, yes. Wake up. Wake up. Oh, even this is too early. No, I'm just kidding. This is actually. Like, not really at all because I've started waking up at 6:00 AM every day.'cause I'm now a coffee barista. Oh, that's right. Mm-hmm. I love that for me. Never can sleep in again. But anyways, well, I'm looking forward to seeing you next time because Yeah, it can get me some good coffee going. Oh, the coffee is so good there, This coffee that I'm drinking right now tastes like. Bunky hole. Yeah. Straight up dirt. Straight up dirt. This is actually the better cup because the first cup had the mushroom coffee in it, and that was particularly bad. Exactly. It is. I started putting like a teaspoon of coconut oil in my mm-hmm. First cup where I've got the, mushroom coffee in there. Mm-hmm. And it actually tastes better. Okay. It just takes that bitterness out of it. Yeah, it's pretty, it's pretty bitter. Yeah. But then when you're drinking it, it's, you've got this oil and so I'll be drinking it and then all of a sudden my lips just feels so good. I'm like, did I just put lip gloss on coconut oil, lip gloss coffee? Let's start marketing it now. Yes, exactly. Two in one. Oh my God. Who wants to be our investors please? Somebody. The two for one coffee lip possible. Yes, exactly. Multi-functioning coffee. Oh my God. Oh my gosh. Well, well today we're gonna talk about how Ronnie still writes checks and I have like five plus social media apps on my phone. Just the rise of technology and how it's transformed, what it means to be human, and how different generations are working through that, and all the little nuances in between. It's gonna be a good conversation, I think. Yeah. Yeah. I'm excited about it. Well, we're gonna start way back when in the analog era. So Ronnie, can you help us paint a picture of what pre-internet life. F really looked like for those of my generation and younger that grew up in a totally different way. Right, right. Well, several things. You had to go to the library if you wanted to do research, if you needed to do any kind of research. Most, uh, family homes had on beautiful display the whole world at Encyclopedia Additions. You know, they used to have a traveling guy. There was a traveling salesman that would come around to people's houses and sell them. Yeah. Encyclopedias. And you, oh my gosh, you, you were living large if you had a full set. We never had a full set, but I'd go to my friend's houses in these big fancy houses and they would like the full set, the bulletins, can I come, can come over and look at your encyclopedias? Oh. So that was, uh, definitely, different also. I would say the biggest thing and the biggest thing that I love first of all about cell phones was all of a sudden every call could be identified. Mm. Yeah. Because you had to pay extra, I think, to get that. There was a, a way that you could do a star something and you could block. That you were calling that person. Oh yeah, I remember that. You know, um, but other than that, you know, it was like, I surely I missed a call from that guy. You know? Surely. So, so it was just really funny. I was listening to a Sam Hunt song this morning, where he talks about, you know, Sitting by the phone, you know, waiting for that call to come. And that's what you had to do. You had an answer machine. We, in our house never had more than two phones, one of them was cordless so you could go somewhere else and talk. But yeah, so, and then if you needed somebody else's number, you called 4 1 1 and you might be able to get it that way. So they had called our id. Oh, as it got a little bit later. And so then you could go through like your little answer machine and see who called and hope that you know their nu number. So it was a whole thing. Um, I feel like romance was like peak at that point.'cause that's the thing. Like especially now with social media, like it's always like comparison and looking for what's next and what's better. And then like back when you were growing up and like probably like high school age, you're getting out of high school. Yeah. It was still like the waiting by the phone, the Yes. Handwritten notes, like all that just feels so much more rtic than what we're dealing with now. Yes, for sure. And loved, you know, like getting postcards, that was a big thing when, when your friends would go on vacation or you would write home at camp, there was no way you were getting in touch with your parents at camp unless you were believing, thank God. That sounds nice. Yeah. Yeah. But you couldn't call anybody, so you would write note. Um, yeah, romance was, was pretty cool because it just felt more intentional. Yeah. You know, like your boyfriend comes over to see you and they bring you some balloons and stuff like that. Whereas now I feel like a lot of it is like a balloon emoji or a flower emoji, and somehow that's supposed to, you know, yeah. Fill in that gap. Also, send you a gif, gif. Gift with a card. Yes. Yes. And that'll be like, yes. A gift. Yes, exactly. But it's not, you're like, you're welcome. Um, so yeah. Uh, try harder, sir. Right? Oh, and we did not have, I'll tell you the other thing that they had call waiting. That I think was what, what was that? Okay, so call waiting was, you could be on the landline and someone else could be trying to call in. Mm-hmm. And if you had call waiting, you could put the other person on hold. So if you had that feature, you didn't have to lose a call if you were on the phone, but just imagine like. Calling people and getting a busy, oh, I know that. That sound, you know that sound. And then you just keep calling back, calling back, calling back, and you're like, they're talking to someone. I just don't know who that is. Oh, was it ever a situation of like, you're trying to call your boyfriend, but it's just. Constant busy line. You're like, is he talking to another girl? Absolutely, absolutely. Or have they taken it off the hook and they just don't want to talk to me because people, you, you could just take your phone off the hook for a while and nobody could get in touch with you. Okay. So still some of these same issues, they just manifested in very different ways. Exactly. Exactly. So, yeah. Yeah. Um, and then there was like star 69 that you could do. To where your phone number didn't show up. Okay. When you called. So that was our like, you know, um, sneaky part of us. That's, that's all we had. That's all we had. I remember being like. Middle school or younger and we would do prank calls, but I don't remember. It was like star or something. I don't know if it was the same thing, but we just prank try and prank call like our family members. So they didn't know who was calling. Honey. We would prank call the school. We would prank call the school our neighbors and say, is your fridge running? Better go get it. I was just thinking that. I was like, what's the one prank call where your refrigerator's running away? That is a classic. Mm-hmm. Absolutely. Classic. So, yeah. Yeah. And, and the other thing was if you at school, like when you put down your information, you put down your home number, if you didn't include like a work number. For your parents, you could interrupt, you could interrupt communication between your school and your parents. Oh God. And I definitely, oh, definitely Ace that one. Oh a plus. A plus plus. So yeah, like the information was scarce. Obviously there was not really any real time information other than mm-hmm. What was on the news, like right then. Or whatever was going on. So, um, you would always have more of like a face-to-face, which we definitely miss that in my generation. Yes. And I think that's why we're the most social, but lonely. Like we're, it's almost like, like with food where we say you're overfed and undernourished. Mm-hmm. We're like, yeah, we're overstimulate over communicating, but still very lonely. Like, feeling lonely. Lonely. It's not fulfilling in a room. It is not fulfilling. It is not fulfilling at all. I think it's so cool. Um, and if I, you know, were a younger. Person. I would definitely, if, especially if I was like looking for somebody or knew somebody that you really love, like go back and take some of that that we had and just kind of weave it in. It doesn't have to be a all or nothing kind of thing. I still love getting like a birthday card in the mail and stuff like that. Yeah. Um, that didn't happen a whole lot, but I still like my mom and yeah. My grandparents, grandparents still do that for the most part. Yeah. Which, it's a nice touch. It's very, it is nice. Something to look forward to for sure. Yes, yes. Well, yeah, I definitely agree. There's a lot of upsides to that that we're missing today. Like you said, like the deeper in person connections where we're more connected than ever, but are we really? No, we're not. Yeah, we're lonelier than ever. Yeah. Also like fewer distractions, because that's a big thing today. I feel like my generation is getting a DHD just because of. Like the instant gratification of using social media and how addictive it is. I feel like we're all just on like a very short time span and yeah. That's something that your generation didn't struggle with and get on you'cause it sucks. Right, right, right. Also the slower information slowered, the pressure. Yeah. Some of the upsides though, like we had said, deeper in-person connections. The one that I found once my kids started getting into social media mm-hmm. Was like, in our day, if you, you didn't get invited to the party, you didn't even know there was a party until Monday. Oh, that's nice. That was huge. Huge, huge, huge. That's the thing that I saw that really like steered wrongly when all the communication. Um, options came up because now all of a sudden you're seeing pictures and videos in real time and you see all these people that are at this party and you're not invited. So now you've spent, you know, all weekend putting yourself down or trying to figure out who you offended or why that didn't happen and you know, you're a wreck. Whereas with us, it was like, oh, did you go to that party the other night? Well, no. I guess I wasn't invited. Well, it's three days passed, so everybody's over that anyways. Yeah. Oh gosh. I definitely felt that. Yes, yes. Just like constantly seeing how other people as, as a teenager, that was deeply insecure and socially anxious. Mm-hmm. Seeing like all these kids that are in my age, my grade, doing all this fun stuff and I'm like, what's wrong with me? Why didn't I get invited? Exactly. Why am I not not cool enough to hang out with them? Exactly. And it absolutely destroyed me. Yeah. So yeah, that part. That part for sure. Yeah. Yeah. So I think that that probably is one of the biggest, other than, you know, just comparing, but they go together. Mm-hmm. Like comparing yourself to everyone else and yeah, we've all heard it so many times, but it is true. People are only highlighting the peaks of their day and their life. And like I know people who will, down to the minute. Try to figure out when they want to post something. Mm-hmm. Based on how many people log in at that time. At what time? Yeah. Yes, yes. Like you wanted to post it like around five or five 30. So when people got off work and they checked their internet. Or they check the social media, you're, you're gonna definitely get more hits that way. Yeah. And I'm just like, I can't be bothered by that. That is just exhausting For sure. Well, some of the downsides,'cause there are some of those because whether technology has harmed or helped us and Yeah. The long run it has helped us in a lot of ways. So, yes. You know, the downsides were obviously the less access to information, so. Yes. That I think is something that's great nowadays. Dangerous, but great. Yeah. Fewer global perspectives, like I said, like I think the, like we are more connected than ever and whether those connections are unfulfilling or not, like we do have access to people from all over the world so that we have a greater understanding of. Of, I think humanity as a whole, and that is empowering and that's an empowering connection in itself. Yes. I feel like there was also a higher stigma on things like mental health and self, self expression, because when you were living in this tiny town, your whole life, communicating with the same exact people and maybe you weren't pursuing like more information. I feel like a lot of those things like mental health and self-expression and just being open-minded was more stigmatized back then. Just because, I mean, you didn't have access to. To information to change your worldview. That's just how it was. Right, right. As far as the like worldview not having that, that's how people were, able to just. Almost isolate. Mm-hmm. And not go outside. So if you go to the same church, the same school, the same meetings, then you kind of just identify with the people that are in that room. You don't have, mm-hmm. You didn't have the access to know, hey, there are lots of people who think differently than I do, or mm-hmm. Think differently than what I'm. What I'm living in. Yeah. Like maybe there's, this is not a hundred percent Okay. Yeah. You know, that kind of thing. So Yeah. I I definitely, that's a huge benefit. Right. And like you were saying about the mental health and self-expression, I, I feel like there was, um, there wasn't a medium, I hope I'm saying that right. Mm-hmm. To, to do that. It just wasn't accessible for you. Yeah. To express your feelings. Um, and I think that social media definitely, and just all that helps us because if we're following the right people and we know who the person is underneath mm-hmm. I feel like there's so much that can happen just by connecting with someone else and realizing I'm not the only one that's dealing with this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah, that's a great point For our next one, like. Less medium, but once again, yes, yes. There was less medium for expressing feelings because that's what I, I do love about social media, particularly TikTok and my generation is like, it's a freeing space for people to just express how they think and for other people to like cons consume it. And just like learn by not necessarily like you're learning from this random influencer and being like, oh, she believes that I believe that, or she's feeling this, I'm not feeling that. Whatever, like. I think it's just very beneficial for us to have a way to express feelings and learn across many different generations, all over the country. All over the world. Like what people are feeling, what their opinions are and things, what their experiences are.'cause I think when you have a better understanding of humanity, you're better able to help it. That makes sense. Yeah. Right, right. And dysfunction has a hard time, repeating itself once you realize. That there's other options. Mm, yeah, that's, that's for sure. And you know, just the whole thing about if you didn't talk about it doesn't exist, that can really quickly back you into a corner and you can feel so isolated. So while extra social media can be isolating, not having that I feel like is more isolating. It can allow generation after generation of just dysfunction because it's all you knew. It was all the people that you knew around you and you didn't really have, uh, options to, like, I would've loved to have had somebody that could talk to me about Hindu or Buddhism or, you know, like different ways of life or mm-hmm. You know, I maybe knew two friends that's parents were divorced. That was it. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. That's totally different than Yes. And I think some of that, yeah. And I think some of that was people stayed in it because they didn't know there was another option. Mm. Yeah. Or, or better yet, stay in it, but utilize the tools that you have. And then if it doesn't work, you know, like. Nowadays, I feel like you've got all these options and you can make a more educated decision. You can also, learn how to better communicate. I think about guys just in general. Mm-hmm. Males and how freeing it must be for them to be able to communicate, especially just southern. You know, like the men was always strong, and we already talked about that in a previous episode. Mm-hmm. But it, it definitely, squashed a lot. And so men were just, they shouldn't express their feelings. That was frowned upon. Talk to be. Yeah, to be emotional was, was frowned upon. Golly. Yeah. Yeah. Well I think that's a great point. Just about dysfunction in general. Yeah. And growing up thinking that everything is normal when really it's very dysfunctional. And that's definitely something technology and social media has brought is like. Maybe you had dealt with abuse in your family growing up. Yeah. And no one ever talked about it, but you find these people on social media that experienced the same thing and then you have watched or listened to their journey coming out of that and changing that and like breaking that generational curse or just like giving you a space to feel like, right, okay, this was not okay. This is what it did to me. Mm-hmm. But like I acknowledge that and here's how I start to heal. Yep. Like just that in itself. And also what you brought up about women like historically. Women, especially like women in faith of the South, feel like divorce is wrong. Yeah. And so, like, you made a great point. Like they didn't think they had any other option. No. But now that we have access to people all over the world, all over the country, like we know that that's not the case. Right. Right. I mean, even if you, you know, I'm all about like, try to make it work in any way possible. Yeah, absolutely. And I feel like obviously we have all that at our fingertips. And, I think honestly I would love to know, and maybe we should look this up one day, the divorce rate and how it might be changing a little bit because people now have access. Their toolbox is bigger, you know, and it's got more, more things. So I would hope, I'm not sure. It's vastly different. Yeah. Especially in certain parts of the country. Exactly. Tell me about growing up a online. This is very interesting'cause I've not had this kind of conversation with my children. Yeah. Oh boy. So this is good. Well, to preface my experience growing up online, I will say like I didn't even have a phone until ninth grade, and it was like a flip phone where I didn't have access to the internet or whatever, but like probably by sophomore year in high school, I had social media, I had a smartphone, I had all of that. But I feel like that was kind of delayed for me when it's, especially now like. The generation coming up behind me, like they have phones from when they're like single digits, which is crazy to me. But anyways, yes. I'll just speak to my experience. Yes. And you know, I think my parents saw the harms in social media and like that's why they delayed me getting access to that for so long. But I also don't feel like they fully acknowledged, like when I did have it, the harm it could do to me and safeguarding against that, or at least having conversations with me about that. And I'm not railing on my parents. I think they did the best they did with what they knew Uhhuh, which wasn't very much because they're from an older generation. Yeah. But I do think a digital childhood equals an identity crisis in hd, literally. Mm-hmm. Like it was bad. My self worth was tied to. Engagement and how many followers I had, and I was constantly trying to be like the people I considered were cooler than me on social media, which is very dangerous. And I think it was particularly bad for me because I don't feel like my self sense of self-worth or self-esteem was cultivated to that point to where I could handle that. I was very so socially anxious. I was very insecure and social media just made all of these issues, like tenfold worse. It was bad. how did that manifest itself in a day-to-day situation? Well, I think obsessing over social media for one. Okay. Like always looking at like what I posted, how many likes I had, like constantly scrolling my feed. I think like very distorted thoughts on like my body and like my self-worth that like that was very distorted in my brain and I was constantly trying to figure out how to get to this very unrealistic point, hoping that people would like me, like right. Looking back on it, it, my, my thinking was so distorted about myself and about others around me, and it's sad, it sucked. And I also had mental health issues, so like all of this was just coming together to create the storm where. I was gonna be a very deeply insecure person and like just a shell of the person I am now for, right. Years and years and years. So I think it's very, very dangerous. Like we just said, I acknowledge all the benefits of it, but I think it's important for parents coming up now to have boundaries and ways to safeguard their children. And I also think that they should be having open conversations like this and like when I. Have kids, I'm gonna plan on telling them everything that I'm talking about now and how it affected me and how I don't want that to happen to them. So I, I do think it's very useful, but like, you have to be very careful and you have to have boundaries because all of those constant exposure to these curated online lives, these highlight reels are going to affect self-esteem and create unrealistic standards, I think no matter how grounded you are at a young age. So, okay. Handled care. I, I have another question. Mm-hmm. So you were socially awkward, so it was difficult. I mean you you said that I wasn't home skill. That's why help. She's so smart. No, I was just wondering, you had this tool to maybe communicate with more people, but then the backside of that was the further decline of your self worth. In your mind, did it cause you to be less social? Did it isolate you, I guess is what I'm thinking asking? I would say yes. That's one of the many factors in which I was like self isolating. Okay. But it made it, I feel like in itself it's an escape from reality. And so when I was feeling very socially anxious or depressed or just feeling like I wasn't good enough for the world, or I didn't fit in like I just resorted to social media because yes, it was addictive and like also. Funny videos. Yes, yes, yes. Like it's just a lot. And looking back at it, I'm like, wow. I wasn't,, I mean, I guess I was a teenager, but I'm like, dang, girl. Didn't you see what was happening? Wow. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like with you and my kids' ages, we dodged a bullet. I mean, we were right on the cusp. On the pre the precipice. Yeah. Yes. I feel like Garrett didn't really, there was no really Facebook until almost he was in college. Mm-hmm. And then Weston was, you know, older, which he's never really been. The man doesn't care about social media, but he loves a good education reel. He loves him a hunting reel. He loves some YouTube reels, whatever. Yes. Loves honey. Yes. But yeah, I, so I definitely, I would love to hear from maybe somebody that's. S early in college and see how different it was for you home. Yeah. So I'm, I feel like I'm 25. Okay. And I'm in Gen Z. So if any of our listeners, you're younger than that, and you maybe had a different experience where you literally grew up online versus where mine was kind of delayed. Let us know what you think we're curious to hear.'cause Yeah, for sure. I can't imagine it would be better than the experience I had, but also, I don't know, I think parents nowadays are more highly sensitive to. What's happening in the res result of all these things, which is great, and there is a lot of research coming out now to support it. For example, there is a lot of studies that highly link anxiety and depression to trying to maintain an online persona in whatever form or whatever. Site or app. So yeah, there you go. Wanna just handle with care. Handle with care. Yeah. Let's talk about some of the pros before we get back into more of the cons.'cause there's a lot of cons. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like the pros though, and we've kind of already kind of talked about'em just based off of what we see that your generation didn't have. And that is like community access learning tools. Yes. Yeah. I feel like now that I understand the harms of social media and I can. Create boundaries and safeguard myself from them. I love having access to all this technology because I want to pursue truth and I'm a learner at heart and having all this information is just like, I don't know. It's, I love it. It's like food for my brain. It's great. And then also global awareness. I think it's great. I'm a person that's very interested in politics, like in our country and also globally, so. Being able to see what's happening in real time, even though it's really depressing, is something that I think is a great benefit. Yeah. As long as you're not like constantly consuming, depressing news, because that's also dangerous. Yes. And I've struggled with that, so Yeah. Yeah. Let's get into the cons. It's time. Like I said earlier, we're all getting a DHD, chronic overstimulation short of attention spans, like. It's crazy to think about, and I don't feel like we have a ton of long term studies quite yet, just because of how new a lot of this technology is. But like, I'm, I'm just worried what it's doing to our brains in the long term because I consume more information in a day than someone else That was. Way in the past, probably consumed in a whole year. Yeah. You know, it's true. Like sometimes it's that real and I'm like, I don't feel like I'm meant to be doing this as a human, but like it's here and I can see the benefit. So I just gotta be careful and use it. But yeah, that's the reality. And you know, like we were talking about superficial connections and also the pressure to like brand yourself or like fit into social groups based off social media. Yeah. And all this like performative living we see. That's really dangerous too, especially when you're a young woman that's struggling with identity or a young man struggling with identity, so, mm-hmm. Yikes. Yeah, it is a trap for sure. I'm looking at this pressure to brand yourself as young as 12 are probably even younger now. I get sick, when I come across people on TikTok that are very young and they're making like these very detailed videos and like. I feel like I can see the inner child in them and what they're trying to get out of social media and it just like, I makes me feel so sad because I'm like, oh my gosh, you're a kid. Go enjoy your life. Yeah. They ride your bike. Yeah. Oh my gosh. It makes me sad, but. Yeah. Whole world we live in now. But anyways, yeah. So research study that came across indicates that intense use of social media, which I feel like is a lot of my generation and younger, lead to changes in brain structures associated with attention and social behavior. So that reinforces what I've been saying, that we're all getting DH, adhd and we're all becoming increasingly more isolated. Yikes. Well, we're just do, we're dopamine junkies. Mm-hmm. With everything. With every like, with every, A positive thing that happens. It's a shot at dopamine. It's like getting high, getting high, getting high. Mm-hmm. Um, and then also like the, random scrolling, you know, it's just people get online and, they just scroll through and until they're tired and then they go to bed and. You know, they've just not dealt with life. It's, yeah. It can be an escape. Mm. That is, and you wanna make sure you're using it in a healthy way, right? Right. In moderation that you're not Yeah, I mean, just go to dinner. I would challenge anybody to go to dinner and just sit around and watch. Yeah. And see how many people are on their phones, who's actually having a conversation. And you, it will shock you because it is so sad. And these aren't just young people. These are people my age, maybe a little bit older. Yeah. It's sickening once you start to see it everywhere. Yes. Yes. How reliant we are on it. Yeah. I do feel like my generation and younger has lost the ability to just like, sit in happy silence with themselves. Yep. Mm-hmm. Which is golden if you, if you can sit in silence in a room full of people and not feel like you've got to fill in every gap with something. Yeah. That, to me is one of the truest marks of maturity. Yeah, period. And just like peace with yourself. Yes, too. Yes. Like I find it so hard to do this. Like I've, I've gotten better at it, but like I probably couldn't sit down for two hours by myself and just be chilling. You'd be in a book and I think it comes from a lot of different things like hustle, culture, my own experience of perfectionism and also imposter syndrome makes me feel like I can't just sit and enjoy time. Without feeling like, you know, I have to be doing something to whatever. Right. And also like social media and stuff, like all this exposure to comparison culture and fear of missing out and performative living, and this like idea that you always have to be pursuing this. Better version of yourself or you're lazy, like that's so dangerous. But it definitely affects the way I view like self-care time. And so I'm trying to rewire my brain out of that. Yeah. And like I don't have to feel all this tremendous pressure all the time to be doing X, Y, and Z, or I am X, Y, and Z, you know? Yeah. Yeah. That being able to also to like just relax. Mm-hmm. Many of you know, That Jim, my husband, lost his job in September of last year, and we just weren't really sure what was gonna happen with that. And after multiple attempts to find a different job, given his background and his work history, just nothing panned out and I really didn't know how that was gonna look, but I tell him often and I really mean it. The fact that he's okay to just relax, to take an afternoon nap, that his self-worth is not directly tied with his productivity, which that is a big gap too. Yeah, that's great. That's a big gap. Well, because our parents, and especially his mom, you know, grew up on a farm. Mm-hmm. You, you worked from the. Morning up till sundown and went to school and did all this stuff. And so she kind of raised the kids, the boys, like that's some of their worth was based on their productivity. Mm-hmm. And so it, I'm glad and I do tell him I'm thankful that we're, we've broken that. Yeah. That's great. You know, that, that part of life. So'cause yeah, that like. It just made me think of what a big generational difference that in itself is. Like your generation, like work was worth for a lot of people. I feel like, especially in the South, that hard work ethic was like, yes, you didn't have that. You're nothing. Right. And I feel like my generation has shifted worth away from that, which I think is great. Yes. I love it. Yes, I love that. I love that. Yes. Yeah. All right. So one topic that I wanted to touch, since we're talking about technology and we've said over and over this episode, one of the great benefits is that we have access to all of this information, but within that there's kind of a generational blind spot and things are getting scary nowadays with AI because I think it was Google that just launched this new generative AI that can literally produce a news video. Fake people and it looks like it's a news clip you would see on tv. It's, it's scary. And I think with all this technology and with all this information that's out there, I think an important point that deserves to see at the table is media literacy and misinformation. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Because that is rampant to nowadays and it's really causing harm. So let's just talk about that and maybe like different generations view it different ways, but I do think it's important regardless. Yes. I agree. So in terms of the research studies show that older generations are more likely to share misinformation online, which absolutely makes sense because my generation is a lot more versed in technology and all the nuances that go in between, you know, all that. And also in college, like I had a lot of discussions with professors and stuff like this on what, like what I can trust online and how to fact check stuff and, and things like that. Uhhuh, but like your generation going through college decades before. Didn't have those conversations. Mm-hmm. And that's, it's not your fault, but it's still important. It's something we have to deal with today if we are gonna be active users in technology. Right, right. And I think one of the biggest pitfalls just overall is folks that did not grow up in this era, is the fear that people have of using the technology is because there's lack of knowledge. Yeah. So when we fear things instead of running away from'em, I feel like this is something that you could really, you don't have to have the smartphone and all the different things, but if you have access, then the fear and the, control or the lack of control can be, educated through and you can find things that are. Acceptable that have work, which is kind of the whole premise of our podcast. Yeah. Is like being okay with the fact that you didn't grow it with it, but how can I learn better today? Help me. Mm-hmm. And just learning from each other. Yeah. Go ahead. I think that's great point. One thing that is part of this conversation and this generational conversation is confirmation bias because like you just said in your spiel about the analog era, like. It was very face to face like your friends and your family are who you trust, your neighbors and all that. So confirmation bias comes into this. And if you dunno what that is, it's just a tendency to search for, interpret favor and recall information in a way that supports your prior beliefs or values. And the studies I found on this is that confirmation bias is more pronounced in older generations because you guys tend to rely on familiar sources for information. Once again that makes sense based on how you guys grew up. Like yeah, you're probably gonna look to the familiar people and the people that you trust in your circle for information. Yep. Versus I think in my generation, I think we kind of went away from that. Like I remember being in college and seeing like family members CCRA posts, like crazy stuff on Facebook, and I was like, okay, I'm just gonna like stick to my. Uh, textbooks over here, whatever. Yes. Like I don't trust you at all. Yes, yes. So that's definitely like a generational difference. Mm-hmm. And something that we can acknowledge to be better and. As we kind of close out this segment of the conversation, I wanted to get out my soapbox'cause I'm really passionate about all of this. No matter what generation you come from, you have a civic responsibility to pursue truth and navigate an increasingly digital world with discernment and caution. Mm-hmm. No matter if you don't understand it, no matter if you're scared of it, like we were just talking about, like I think it's a personal responsibility that you have to take upon yourself because. I don't think technology's going anywhere. Right. That is getting more complex, more scary, like I just said. So it's upon us to learn how to navigate that in a way that we're not falling to any of the, the harms and the pitfalls of technology.'cause it does have real world effects that are dangerous. Yes. That, that whole thing, you know, you can really, if you have a stance. It won't take you long to find sources and people who support that stance. Yeah. So it's like, are you seeking it for information or validation? Mm. That's aism right there because I do feel like, and we've talked about it'cause we are very different politically. Mm-hmm. And, but I pray. That if I've done anything, it would be to be open to other, to your views, to Dawson and Garrett's to Weston's. You know, just not always looking. I just wanna learn more. Yeah. I wanna be a student of my people. I want to be a student. I applaud you for that. And you are, you're very open. And even though we don't discuss politics in the family, I know that like, if we could, it wouldn't be like a blow up conversation. No, not at all. Because I, again, you have to think, am I searching for this because I want to know more are because I want to find people that agree with me. Yeah. And those are, and so many of the times we're not even like asking ourselves that question. No. But if we started, like I realize started with that. Yeah, in the past I realized that I was consuming a lot of media that agreed with me, and now I like purposely go out of my way to see like, what is this political party saying? What is this political party saying? Yes. What are people saying about this? For people saying about this, because it is so dangerous when you're not asking yourself that question because then you find yourself five years down the road and someone disagrees with you and you like freak out and have a crisis or whatever. You're get angry like it's just. It's very ugly. Right? Right. We have to be open-minded to each other. We can't fall trapped to the mindset of like us versus them. Yes. Like it's all of us in this together. Exactly. We have to work together. Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, I don't wanna wake up in five years and say, man, that was a farce. I have literally lived a farce for the last five years because instead of finding out information, I've just wanted click, you know, validation. Somebody to agree with. You can find somebody to agree with you all the time. I'm crazy. No matter how crazy your beliefs are, no matter how crazy you are, there's group people on the internet that will make you feel better by yourself. Absolutely. There's always somebody and not be good. Yep. Oh man. Well, props to you for remaining open-minded and seeing the value in that.'cause I don't think a lot of people from your generation have adopted that mindset, but good job. Right? No. Well. You know, the last thing I wanna do is offend somebody. And you know, just learn more if you, yeah, if you feel like you're in a gap and you are having issues communicating, just ask questions. People love to talk about themselves. I am my favorite subject. Before you go into reaction mode and wanna blow up this person before their crazy stance. Yes. Find out more. Yes. Before you then respond Exactly. Respond, not react. That's that's right. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, man. Well, let's talk about before we close, kind of bridging the gap. And I feel like we've already learned a lot from each other, but let's kind of review it and see if there's anything else to add. Yeah. So you wanna start with the first point? Yeah. Yeah. Well, analog skills there, there's value in skills, prevalent in older generations. Uh, patience, deep listening, face-to-face communication, grounded, inner worth, those kind of things that you can learn from older generations. Mm-hmm. and just, just really searching the, and researching and looking for that face-to-face, looking for the medium where you could have an open conversation with people mm-hmm. And not have it go. South so fast. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Respectfully disagree. Which I think that is something that none of us know really how to do. Anymore. Well, especially today, I do feel like people Yes. Find it so easy to comment on things. Yes. A lot of times before they even read or watch the whole video, and it's just so hateful. It's combative. Mm-hmm. All of that stuff. Yeah. And I guarantee you, uh, like 99% of these trolls wouldn't say that to your face. So what are you doing? Do you not ever comment something? You can't say it to someone's face. Exactly. God, it's so easy. Amen, sister. Woo, man. Well, yeah, I, I definitely agree on a lot of those points and that's something that we can focus towards as we. Handle social media with caution and technology with caution. And on the flip side of that, let's talk about the digital savvy and what we can take from that. So yes, while we just acknowledge all the serious drawbacks of technology, there is a lot of benefits in digital proficiency. So accessing information like never before for, but using it for learning and growth and expanding your worldview, expanding your values, you know? Mm-hmm. Like all of that stuff I think is fantastic. Also connecting globally, like others before, just trying to understand the rest of the world. And I just think that there's always gonna be benefits with that. Yes. And also increased productivity. And as someone that is scared of ai, I also use it a lot to be more productive and it has saved me hours and hours of time. Like I use it to come up with episode titles for this podcast, like I use it to generate content ideas that I can make. Mm-hmm. I use it to help me find TikTok trends that are popping and how I can use that For this podcast. Yes. Like I used to help generate your research and talking points for the outlines, and it has saved me hours and hours of time that I can then spend doing things I love. Hanging out with my dog, hanging out with my husband. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So utilizing that, but making sure you're not reliant on it.'cause I think it's dangerous when people use it to, let's say you're an author and you're using it to write a book. Right? Like literally write the book for you. Right. There's something my brother said who's been a guest on here before and he's just amazing that. Yeah. Everything worth doing is gonna be hard. And if you're using things like cheat codes and video games, we we're talking about that because we play a lot of video games together, or using AI to write your book for you. At the end of the day when you get to the finish line, what are you gonna feel? Right? Are you gonna feel like you accomplished something through blood, sweat, and tears? Or are you gonna feel like you just cheated and that you took a shortcut and that you're not actually enough to do these things on your own? Mm. So, yeah. Profound, profound. You can start something for one reason and continue it for a completely other reason. Mm-hmm. As far as, checking into the whole AI thing, and I, I want us to talk more about that in Future Pro. Mm-hmm. I wanna, I want to hear from people that are using it in a way that's not replacing themselves, but it's enhancing. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's the idea, their experience. Yes. That should be the idea. Yeah. Yeah. Well, before we get to our closing, I just want to make a final suggestion on having a more balanced approach to technology, which is basically, I think the gist of this whole episode that we agreed on and. Uh, just this balanced approach where, what if we combine the strengths of both? Mm-hmm. So if we set boundaries with technology and social media, we could utilize these amazing benefits that I just talked about while avoiding the digital burnout, the identity crisis, and all those things that we don't want to get into. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So let's just think about everything in moderation. Everything in balance.'cause that's how things are, I think, designed to work. Yes. You wanna tell us what she said? So in our closing, this week's, what she said is. We don't even know who it is, but they tried to find out something. I dunno, they said something really profound. So we are not held back by the old ways, but neither are we fully free in the new. And I love that. And I, I guess that part, like really seeking to understand the people that are older than you mm-hmm. Is a big gap. I don't think, you know. I'm just gonna tell you, I, I don't feel respect at all from most mm-hmm. People that are younger than me. Like, it, it doesn't mean that, like I'm just saying, like opening a door mm-hmm. Allowing a woman to go through and some of that, you know, is Southern Yeah. Type stuff, but just the, I just feel like, here's the general, general disrespect that I feel. Mm-hmm. I feel like that the younger generation is not interested. In what we know. Mm. They're they don't, yeah. I feel like there is a disinterest in that. I agree. I think my generation and younger are so, quick to condemn you guys. Mm-hmm. But like in all these generational conversations, like, I'm thinking of everything I have now that you didn't have. And we keep saying again like, when you know better, you do better. And like. You did the best you could with what you have. Yeah. And like we just talked about, there's so much value in like what you guys learned and your experiences. So yeah, we do need to be more respectful unless we're given a valid reason not to. Like, that should just be the norm. Right, right. And I, I do feel like that that's a, a big gap. That, but I think what you're saying and just considering what we had or didn't have, that takes compassion. Not a lot of people have that sadly. Nope, Nope. Just crazy. But we're so excited about what's going on with us, and feedback that we're getting on just like highlighting different generational stuff. Mm-hmm. Um, so we want you also, there's a challenge. Alright, Cana, give the challenge. We want to invite you this week, just a little mini challenge, reflect on your uses of technology in the digital age. Do you have boundaries? Are they working? Mm-hmm. Do you need more? Do you need less? Mm-hmm. How can you ensure that you're not consuming propaganda and misinformation? You know, like how has technology affected your life, whether you grew up with it or whether you didn't. Right. And what's it like now? Right. What do you want it to look like in the future? We just invite you to. Reflect on that for a little bit because a lot of these things we just talked about are very important, and I think we're living in a digital era now, whether you like it or not. So we might as well try and navigate it in the best way we can. So we're all gonna figure this new era out together, it's changed how we live, love, learn, communicate. So let's just keep in mind that the key to navigating this is awareness boundaries. Humor and empathy. Yes. Compassion across generations. Yes. I'm sure you guys that have, smartphones, there is actually weekly from my iPhone, I get a report. Of screen time. Mm-hmm. And, that's very interesting because you can go through that and I never really looked at like the specifics, but it'll break it down for you. Like what type, yes. You have this much screen time, how much of it is, you know, on social media. Yeah. How much of it is. Something else, but, that, that was, that will open your eyes, so. Mm-hmm. That's a good way to kind of just measure yourself. Yes. Yes. Well, if you thought our generational conversation today was very interesting. You liked it, you learned a lot, made you think a lot. Share it with a friend.'cause word of mouth is huge for us. Yes. And before you go, we would love it. Love it, love it, love it. If you would leave us a review'cause we love your feedback and we also love. Building our show. Yes. That's the goal here. Yes.'cause we wanna be able to have these generational conversations and. Not only just our voices speaking, but all of you guys chiming in as well.'cause hopefully you guys are also from different generations. Yes. And different backgrounds and stuff like that. So that is the generational tea. Big time. Well, and that, that's the tea. Tea.